Lincoln council wants 2.95% tax hike

City of Lincoln is looking to increase local tax by 2.95% for 2019/20 in an effort to balance its books.

It would see the council increase the rate for an average band D property from £267.03 to £274.90.

The same move was made by the authority last year when councillors passed a 2.95% hike.

The council is also looking for further 1.9% increases over the next three years.

Meanwhile, council officials said the authority will need to make £5.25 million worth of savings a year from 2020/21. More than £4 million of these savings have been indetified so far.

Officers have increased the target in the face of uncertainty over future funding from central government.

Senior councillors on the authority’s executive will discuss the plans at a meeting on January 21.

A final budget proposal, including council tax, will go before a full council meeting for final approval in March.

It comes as councils across the region are looking at other avenues of income in the face of funding cuts from government.

Local authorities are expected to see a further reduction in their revenue support grant, the main source of funding from Whitehall.

But Jaclyn Gibson, chief finance officer at the city council, said in a report that the authority should have confidence in its financial record.

“The council’s financial position needs to be viewed in the wider context of continued public sector austerity and the impact this is having upon the financial resilience and sustainability of local authorities.

“The warning signs are becoming increasingly clear as a number of authorities are taking measures to restrict expenditure to core, statutory services.

“Although the increase in savings required is substantial, it is not unprecedented and the council should have some confidence that it has a track record of delivering strong financial discipline and that it can rise to the challenge once again.”